Anthony Hilbert

7.9

Tasted from a mason jar with crackers as the only compliment. Oak, vanilla, blackberry on the nose. Fairly flat flavor, moderately dry with an aggressive, sharp astringency. Some berry notes, prevalent wood note, mild tannins. Would likely benefit from decanting but unlikely I'll revisit. — 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

8.4

Drank over 30 minutes with a meal of chicken tandoori after a long day of work. It suited its purpose but did little to capture the imagination. A relatively light body compared to the cabernets I've had recently, mild fruits throughout with notes reminiscent of cherry and plum. Moderately dry finish, a nice compliment to a slightly spicy, full-flavored dish. Likely won't revisit, but I don't regret giving it a shot. — 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

8.0

I'm fairly unfamiliar with cognacs or brandies so I'll avoid making ant definitive judgments, but overall this was a good choice. Pleasent, rich golden color and a breathtaking aroma. Smooth with a tolerable bite and burn, notes of oak and vanilla. Hopefully I'll explore cognacs more and come back to this classic. — 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

7.5

Drank after a couple of beers and a cocktail so adjust standards appropriately. Nearly devoid of flavor, not in a subtle way but in a manner the deceives a poor quality product. Slight charred oak on the nose is followed by nearly none on the palate. Moderately dry. An acquaintance brought it, stopping me from pouring this out as hardly worth the calories. Not overtly offensive, but disappointing. — 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

8.0

Throwing it back to a finger lakes/Rochester classic. I had this before Sunday dinner with the family after work and dropping hot sauce in the driveway. The aroma is all sweet, candies grape, very little astringency despite the high proof. The taste follows with virtually now traditional wine notes. Candy sweet, grape juice note dominates with a smooth finish and only a slight burn on the finish. I can see why it was so popular. An interesting pick, I'll try it again. — 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

8.3

First drink of the evening after a long day at work. Served fridge temperature though it warmed up over the half hour it took to drink. Bright apple notes, moderately sweet. Generally pleasing, but likely not worth a second pass. — 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

8.9

Anthony had this 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

9.6

Anthony had this 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

9.2

Drank over an hour, including with a southwestern-styled dinner. As it sat it greatly improved. It could have benefited from decanting or further aging, but beautiful at the moment all the same. Intensely drying at first, with strong tannins that dominated at fruit or floral notes. After some time, bright cherry pushed to the surface, with blackberry notes, some oak character. Beautiful and worth a second try. — 7 years ago

Anthony Hilbert

7.8

Less memorable than others with little pulling me back for more. I tasted this over a couple of hours and still wound up with half of the bottle unfinished. It felt flat, overall. Thorns of astringency and tannins were present without much of the bouquet I was expecting. Relatively muted fruit notes rounded out by moderate character from the barrel. I wasn't much in the mood to drink so I'll revisit another time, but my initial impression is that this is a fine wine for a meal or casual drinking. Inoffensive but unimpressive. — 7 years ago